The Reverse Sear, a One Way Ticket to a Perfect Roast

Cooking a roast is kind of nerve-wracking. All the responsibility that accompanies that formidable hunk of meat is a burden, and let's be honest, a roast is never cheap. What if it's overdone? What if the center is still cold but the exterior is tough? That's a lot of pressure. According to senior food editor Rick Martinez, the easiest way to achieve rib roast perfection is with a little thing called the reverse sear, and it's just a simple switch in procedure.

Most home cooks will blast their roast with high heat in a pan to brown the exterior and then transfer to the oven to finish cooking. The most common symptom of this 1-2 punch is a ring of tougher gray meat surrounding a rosy interior. That ring can be avoided. After all, there's no "meh" layer that was cut from Picasso's Three Musicians. There's no beginning scene that you fast forward through in The Godfather. You don't just skip to the second verse in Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. Those are pristine all the way through. All you need to do is the exact opposite. Start your bone-in roast on low heat and finish it high.

The ideal temp for medium-rare meat is 125°F, so the goal is to get your meat there at the same pace, with the exception of the exterior. To achieve this, first put your brined or dry-brined roast (an insurance policy against bland meat) in the oven at 225°. This gives you more control over the rising temperature of your roast, which in this case is a six-bone, 10-13 pound rib-eye roast. The tricky thing about the cook time is that there's no direct ratio of time to weight, because thickness of the meat varies. That means that if you're going above or below the 10-13 pound range, you'll have to monitor carefully. After about 3½ hours, the internal temperature should read at about 110° or 115°. Then, blast the oven to 500° to crisp up the exterior to a beautiful brown, for about 8 to 10 minutes. It's a surefire way to protect the majority of your roast and achieve a picturesque appearance.

As easy as this trick is, you still need to pay attention to your meat. Make sure you trust your meat thermometer. That's the most important tool besides an oven in this scenario. Another thing to be conscious of is a thick fat cap. Since the layer of fat insulates the meat beneath, it will affect the time it takes the roast reach the ideal temperature. If you leave the fat cap on your roast, you may have to blast the roast with a broiler or sear it regularly to ensure that the fat renders correctly.

Martinez likes this technique for pork, lamb, and beef roasts, but you can certainly use it on other cuts as well. He's used the reverse sear on a large turkey breast to fantastic results. Just keep in mind that this only works well for cuts of meat that are thicker than two inches. If thinner, you want to sear as you normally would.

Perfection is achievable. No self-help book needed. No parental pressure. No guidance counselor. Just a little twist in the routine. Fear not the holidays. Fear not the roast. The reverse sear will always be here to help.